Why are usa made knives so expensive?

[eveled]

I love Bucks and Ka-Bars but my favorite users are Randall's. They get the job done and make me happy. That is worth the money to me. The small one I bought as a present when I got my plumbing license the larger when I got my masters license.

 

[garddogg56]

Very good eveled.the best don't come cheap.as with any tool ya don't want to cheap-out especially as a tradesman.

 

[wingriderz]

While I do have and have really worked on my knife collection in past few years. Stuck and an addict to classic knifes lately. I do have Sogs , Gerber, and other plastic assisted , Kershaw and others. My interest has Ben Case both slip and lockbladed. In fact have a new lockbladed to be delivered this week. My price point has always been staying at Max $100.00 or less. I did ponder at on point to maybe step up to and spend a bit more into a lower end Benchmade. My biggest issue is there is no eye candy with any of those. Lol. Being for now a Case addict

 

[pawngal]

As I have mentioned before here, my late hubby was a knife collector. He had literally thousands of knives. For many years he collected antique/vintage pocket knives with his focus on knives made in the congress whittler pattern. That is a knife with a master blade on one backspring and 2 blades on a double backspring with the master blade falling between the 2 blades when closed and done in a slightly curved style. He had amassed a collection of about 150 of these knives and often displayed his collection at knife shows around the country.
Pictured below are 2 examples, the first is a Terrier Cutlery made between 1910-1916. The second was made by Frary in Bridgeport, CT between 1879-1881 as determined by the blade stamping.
These are fine examples of early New England knife manufacturing.

 

[eb07]

I will gladly pay more to ensure I support American companies. China has killed small business and American way of life for years by undercutting with cheap junk. I go out of my way to buy American. But I don't mind a good swiss watch or knife from time to time.

 

[pawngal]

In the 1990's his interest changed to beautiful handmade custom knives. All of these are American makers. These have all been sold for me by Arizona Custom Knives so I have swiped their pictures which are much better than mine were. The makers of these are John Hoskins, Stan Wilson, Andy Shinosky, W.D. Pease, and C.Gray Taylor. All of these sold in the 4 figures.

 

[Farmer17]

I currently have about 25-30 knives and none are very expensive except for one Benchmade. I sold several high dollar knives when I saw the prices they were bringing versus the modern cheap knives that are darn near as good. Yeah, Benchmade will hold an edge longer than my other knives but it still needs to be sharpened eventually. When I can get Kershaw OSO Sweet for 25 bucks or an OKC 7" military issue knife for under $40 and abuse the heck out of them I see no need to spend more money.

 

[pawngal]

The knife "thing" must have been contagious because it seems I have even added a few for myself, all have been autos. The first is one of his custom knives that I'm keeping. Made by Matthew Lerch in the late 1990's. I rest of these I have purchased myself. The 2nd is by an Italian company, Italians have long been know for their quality autos. This one is a lever lock. Next is a Pro-Tech USA Limited Edition Auto Runt, note the Damascus blade. Then a little Benchmade Impel, Last is my favorite and my carry, Benchmade Phaeton. I really like the double action spine fire. I also have import autos and the difference is easily seem and felt.
If another American company makes a spine fire auto I would be interested.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

My EDC are SAK's either a tinkerer or huntsman. Prefer the Tinkerer because is is a bit smaller.
My go to knife for cleaning ducks is a pair of kitchen shears that I paid $10 for years ago.
For fish it's Dexter/Russel.
For heavy duty watersports like sailing,etc, I use a folder by Myerchin. I have a Myerchin dive knife on my safety harness and that's about it.
Not really a knife snob. The benchmade's, spydercos etc are nice but they can't do anything that the above can't.
Oh and I also use an electric knife for cleaning a mess o fish

 

[pawngal]

Back to some misc knife ramblings. Hubby always said that the best using knives for the money were the 110 Buck in a folder and the 119 Buck in a fixed blade and that any fool can do a decent job of sharpening them.
He said Case knives were good but he was more interested in the collectible values of knives and said Case made too many knives to become collectibles. He was wrong on that! Many of the older Case are selling at a premium now.

 

[k22fan]

1980s Case slip joints often get a small premium but it's a very small one when they do. Like new condition 1970s Case slip joints sell for so much more than like new condition 1990s and newer ones that to justify buying one you have to consider yourself to be a collector. Older than that they do not have to be like new to interest collectors.

 

[357-RevolverGuy]

When it comes to USA made knives I'm more about the traditional folders/slipjoints. Today there are only a handful of these companies that are still in business (Case, GEC, Bear & Son). And after seeing how much work and effort it takes to produce these knives, some having over 160 hand operations, I think the prices they sell for are fair.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l-7AsetYs0[/ame]

 

[Black69]

I bought my son a Benchmade automatic for his birthday last year. It has a lifetime warranty and if it ever gets dull you can send it back and they will sharpen it for you. He says it's the best knife he has ever had.

 

[Narragansett]

I bought my son a Benchmade automatic for his birthday last year. It has a lifetime warranty and if it ever gets dull you can send it back and they will sharpen it for you. He says it's the best knife he has ever had.

Unless Benchmade has had a policy change, I believe whatever warranty You get will have to be through a dealer on an automatic

 

[Narragansett]

As far as cost goes, obviousy there is labor, material costs, advertising, transportation, distribution, and the 40 to 50% for dealer margin. Then of course the cost of celebrity endorsements should that be the case. The 200 dollar knife you buy probably cost 20.00 to make. Then there is the manufacturer's overhead and profit.

I use nothing but automatics, and I fend Piranah to be about the best. Microtech is too costly, and Benchmade actions are too slow. I do buy American knives exclusively. I can still recall the devastation to the New York area when the Schrade company went out of business in their 100th year.. 3 generations at a time were working in their plants. A way f life was lost. Now Schrade is owned by Taylor Cutlery and made in China. Something t stay away from.

I believe Taylor als makes the S&W knives in China. S&W just prostitutes their name. Had one given to me......junk.

Spyderco, Kershaw, Piranah, Kabar, and a few others make all the quality knives one needs. Of course I am only addressing knives with a reasonable initial cash outlay

 

[Retiredguns]

I've been a knife guy since my Grandad gave me a Keen Kutter when I was around 7 years old. I collected "pocket knives" for decades. When I was in the Corps, I carried a small knife in my pocket and either a 110 or original Leatherman on my belt. Flash forward to about 10 years a go, I got into modern folders with high end steel. I went nuts for a while accumulating several dozen Spydercos, Benchmades, ZT, CRK, Hinderer and others. I decided it was crazy chasing the grails and sold all the modern knives except my 3 favorites. 3" Hinderer XM18 slicer, Spyderco Native 5 and a Chris Reeve small Insingo. I carry one of those and a Case swayback jack every day. The jack can do most tasks, but sometimes I need the muscle of a locking knife with steel that stays sharp for a good while. Cutting zip ties, crapload of cardboard, wax string, etc.. is not fun with a small pocket knife. I gladly pay for a knife that is made in the USA and built for a lifetime of use. As nice and nostalgic as a 110 is, the modern, lightweight, slim, positive locking high end folder is easier to carry and deploy. I have over $900 into the knives below, but worth every penny to me.

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

Just give me a high carbon steel bladed knife. Yes they will rust
if not cared for properly, but easy to sharpen and they will hold an
edge for a good while. Not a fan of stainless or other exotic alloys
although I do own a couple stainless blades.
My latest is a recycled Husqvarna lawn mower blade with a deer leg
bone handle. Not sure of the steel content but it did harden and
is sharp and only cost me some time, most of which was finishing
after forging in my solid fuel forge.

 

[Retiredguns]

Just give me a high carbon steel bladed knife. Yes they will rust
if not cared for properly, but easy to sharpen and they will hold an
edge for a good while. Not a fan of stainless or other exotic alloys
although I do own a couple stainless blades.
My latest is a recycled Husqvarna lawn mower blade with a deer leg
bone handle. Not sure of the steel content but it did harden and
is sharp and only cost me some time, most of which was finishing
after forging in my solid fuel forge.

Definitely something about good carbon steel. We have been using opinel pairing knives for decades and once they get a good patina, they pretty much stop rusting. At $7 a pop, we just keep buying them when needed. I can strop them in a minute and they are back to shaving sharp!

 

[bgrafsr]

Since I mentioned to "Model of 1989" that I had a Buck 402 Akouna, I thought I should post a pic of it:

 

[diyj98]

As far as cost goes, obviousy there is labor, material costs, advertising, transportation, distribution, and the 40 to 50% for dealer margin. Then of course the cost of celebrity endorsements should that be the case. The 200 dollar knife you buy probably cost 20.00 to make. Then there is the manufacturer's overhead and profit.

I agree on all the above. Especially the endorsements. Once a "tactical" knife is perceived to be used by SEAL teams, special forces, "operators", and assorted mall ninjas, the price many are willing to pay goes through the roof.